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Defendant in murder case tries to fire attorney, then changes his mind

King-Bohannon.jpg

To Mobile County prosecutors, Marquis King (left) is both a victim and a criminal. Authorities contend that Xavian Bohannon (center) tried to kill him in October 2012 in retaliation for the shooting death of his brother, Orlando Bohannon (right).

Two months later, the victim’s brother, Xavian Bohannon, fired shots at King but did not hit him, police allege.

Attorney Ashley Cameron was appointed to represent King in July 2013, after he was indicted on a murder charge related to the death of Orlando Bohannon. On April 16, three weeks before the start of his trial, the defendant sent a hand-written motion to the court asking for Cameron to be withdrawn as his attorney.

In the motion, he said he feels “counsel has mislead the defendant” on many occasions, “feels a lack of trust for counsel” and that he had asked her “many time” for a copy of the discovery documents in his case, but wasn’t given them.

Circuit Court Judge John Lockett was scheduled to rule on the motion on Tuesday, but King withdrew his request to have Cameron removed. The judge did deny a second portion of King’s April 16 letter, which was a motion to dismiss the indictment. Therefore, the May 5 murder trial is scheduled to go forward as planned.

On Wednesday, Cameron said her client’s motions came as an absolute surprise, and that his claims that she hadn’t provided documents were due to a “misunderstanding.” She said the requested documents have been sent to King more than once.

“I think he was just confused,” she said.

As for having a client who’s involved enough to file his own motions, she said it can “sometimes” be helpful in general. Specifically related to her dealings with King, all she would say is, “He has been very cooperative and very helpful.”

According to prosecutors, the bad blood between Marquis King and the Bohannons goes back to at least 2011 when police charged Orlando Bohannon with
assault in the shooting of King. Court records indicate that a grand jury declined to hand
down an indictment in the case.

King is currently being held without bail in Mobile County Metro Jail, stemming from an arrest on two burglary charges in Nov. 2013, while he was out on a $50,000 bond on the murder charge. According police, he and 18-year-old Darren Christopher Redd burglarized several homes in Mobile. That case has been sent to a grand jury for possible indictment.